Kim Schrier

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member McGovern for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, right now, our country is facing a public health crisis that has been created by the Trump administration. From misinformation about vaccines and lifesaving medicines to devastating cuts to critical research, along with political litmus tests, this administration is putting Americans in danger. Specifically, the cuts to the CDC have been disastrous. Our public health workforce has been attacked, and our ability to assess and respond to outbreaks has been decimated. We are now seeing the worst measles outbreak in decades, and the number of Americans affected by cyclospora is rapidly growing in over 30 States, and because of inadequate surveillance, that may just be the tip of the iceberg. Last year, the Trump administration changed the CDC's FoodNet surveillance program, narrowing the number of pathogens under active surveillance, including cyclospora. The health and lives of thousands of Americans are on the line as they contract diseases that the CDC has helped us prevent for years and has screened for, for years, all because of the actions of this administration. If you are an American right now with measles, this CDC has failed you. As cyclospora spreads, the CDC is not meeting expectations. Communication has been sparse. Misinformation is rampant, and real information is lacking. HHS Secretary Kennedy, as a leader, has been completely absent in helping with any of it. As a doctor and a Member of Congress, I am outraged and deeply concerned. We need the CDC to be restored to its previous capacity, because you don't really know how critical our public health service is and our CDC is until there is an outbreak and we can't manage it. Every death from preventable illnesses should be laid at the Trump administration's feet until these changes are undone.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, as a mom, a pediatrician, and a Member of Congress, I rise today to support the advancement of the KIDS Act to take some serious steps to protect our kids and their data online and hold Big Tech accountable. The KIDS Act includes my bill, the Kids Online Safety Act, which will ensure that social media companies provide protections and guardrails for kids online and are held accountable for the many harms they are causing to our kids, from sleeplessness, to eating disorders, to self- harm, and even harm from others. Social media companies have gone largely unregulated for decades, all while they have become an omnipresent and bigger and bigger part of everyday life, including for kids. In my 20 years as a pediatrician, I have seen the rise of mental and behavioral health concerns for kids and teens coincide directly with the rise of screen time and social media. It is long past time to hold Big Tech and social media accountable. This package includes many useful tools for parents to keep their kids safe online, but parents can't do it alone. This package isn't perfect, and I wish to see even more come out of negotiations with the Senate. That is why I am continuing to call for a duty of care and language that goes further to hold social media companies accountable for the many harms that their platforms are causing, including serious mental health issues, like anxiety, depression, addiction, eating disorders, and suicidality. But this package represents the first time in decades that we have had a chance in the House to take a step forward, to finally passing comprehensive legislation to protect our kids. I strongly urge my colleagues to support it today so we can make it even stronger.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because people in the district I represent and across the country are being crushed by skyrocketing gas prices. Prices have been rising since this President got into office for healthcare, for groceries, and now for gas prices because of this reckless war of choice. Our constituents deserve better. They deserve immediate relief. They deserve better than emptying their wallet every time they fill up at the pump. As we know from watching other crises, Big Oil and Gas will take any opportunity to pad their profits, so Congress should act now to protect consumers. That is why I am offering this bill, the Lower Prices at the Pump Act, the commonsense solution to protect the American people from price gouging. The bill I am offering prevents Big Oil from price gouging in case they attempt to take advantage of the economic uncertainty and instability created by the war with Iran. They have done it before, and they could do it again. Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to join us to bring this bill up for a vote. Our constituents are being crushed by prices across the board as it is, and President Trump has told us that he is too preoccupied with his ballroom to care. We must protect consumers at the pump to protect them from big corporations who might try to pull a fast one. Our jobs are to make lives easier, not harder, for Americans, and the time to act is exactly right now. That is why I am asking my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can bring up this important bill.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to the Farm, Food, and National Security Act that would codify the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement, or SAFE Initiative. The SAFE Initiative was established in 2007 as part of a Conservation Reserve Program. It helps landowners restore land that would otherwise be unproductive for agricultural purposes. The initiative is unique in that it specifically supports wildlife populations by restoring critical habitats and providing food sources. This is great for agricultural producers, a win for wildlife and the environment, and it allows States to work toward their high priority conservation goals. For example, in parts of Washington State, land enrolled in the SAFE Initiative can provide habitat for two of our native birds, the sage- grouse, and the core sharp-tailed grouse. There are fewer than 1,000 of these birds remaining, and a lot of their habitat is on private farms across our State. This program protects those species. In other areas of the country, the program can be used to protect habitats for species like the New England cottontail, grassland birds, deer, and even pollinators. This program is entirely voluntary and gives farmers an opportunity to earn money through land that they no longer can use or they may not need. I have heard from farmers who are thrilled to have this opportunity to restore their land, which of course, benefits them financially but also protects habitat, improves soil health, limits erosion, and sequesters carbon. Instead of producing lower and lower yields or being forced to sell their land, farmers can receive annual rental payments and additional financial assistance to establish long-term, easy-to-implement conservation practices, like increasing vegetative cover. This program is a commonsense solution that gives farmers an opportunity to diversify their income while ensuring their land can be used by future generations. It is great for the environment. It is phenomenal for our Nation's farmers, and it creates lasting State partnerships with producers. It is past time for this initiative to be signed into law, and I urge my colleagues to support my amendment that would codify the SAFE Initiative and ensure land can be continuously enrolled in this program. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Chair, again, I encourage my colleagues to vote to codify this SAFE Initiative program, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of all 13 servicemembers who have died in service in the last couple of weeks, and I rise specifically today, together with my fellow members from the Washington delegation, to honor the life and service of U.S. Air Force Captain Ariana Savino, from Covington, Washington, who tragically passed away last week while bravely serving our country. We are all deeply grateful for Captain Savino's commitment to service, for her time in ROTC at Central Washington University, and all the way to her most recent deployment. She flew nearly 350 combat hours as both a combat systems operator and a pilot. Her service earned her the Air Medal and the Air and Space Commendation Medal. Countless friends and family have all spoken about what a remarkable young woman Captain Savino was, of her energy and her laughter, and how she uplifted her fellow servicemembers and paved the way for others like her. Our Nation, the State of Washington, and the community back home in my Eighth Congressional District have really all lost a true hero. Her work and dedication and her patriotism should inspire all of us. I had the privilege of meeting her family, and as we mourn together with them and all of her loved ones, we take solace in knowing that her courage, her passion for flying, and her love of country will live on through so many whom she has inspired to follow in her path. We extend our deepest condolences to her friends and family and reiterate a profound gratitude for her service to our Nation. Please join all of us from Washington in a moment of silence for Captain Savino.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the communities all over the Eighth Congressional District and throughout Washington State that are feeling the tremendous impacts of this week's and last week's storms and floods. Nearly 5 trillion gallons of rain in just 7 days have swelled rivers to record highs and at record speeds, trapping many before they even had a chance to evacuate. One person drowned. Countless houses were severely damaged; some even lifted right off their foundations. Farms were under water. Livestock was evacuated. So many families are worried about how they will ever get back on their feet. Amid this tragedy, we also saw the very best in our communities. Neighbors helped neighbors. Emergency planners and government leaders kept careful watch, planned the evacuations, prevented dams from overtopping, monitored levees, and arranged for temporary shelter. Our first responders have displayed immense bravery, working around the clock to conduct helicopter and swift water rescues, sometimes putting their own lives at risk. They are true heroes, and we are deeply grateful. As our communities begin this process of recovery, I want them to know that I will do everything I can here with my colleagues to ensure they get the Federal support they need to recover.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Speaker, as the first and only pediatrician in Congress, I rise today to condemn the so-called Protect Children's Innocence Act. I have served children and their families for over 20 years, and I find this piece of legislation to be dangerous and an absolute slap in the face for parents and for doctors who have dedicated their lives to caring for children and families. This bill could put doctors behind bars for up to 10 years for providing medically appropriate care for children, and it doesn't even stop there. It could put parents behind bars for making, after deep consideration, and in many cases, anguish, the decision that they deem best for their own child. This bill will instill fear in doctors and patients and rob parents of their freedom to make decisions for and with their own children. Instead, it puts that power in the hands of D.C. lawmakers. Healthcare decisions are deeply personal. The confidential relationship between a patient, their parents, and their physician is sacred. Physicians follow evidence-based guidelines and use their best clinical judgment.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today as families across the entire country are struggling with rising costs at the grocery store, on their healthcare, their health insurance, and this year especially, on their utility bills. In fact, in Washington State, average electricity rates are up nearly 17 percent since Trump took office less than 1 year ago. With energy demand skyrocketing in the region, prices have continued to climb. Let me be clear. This is a direct result of the harmful and reckless policies of this President and Republicans in Congress. They have canceled billions of dollars in investments for our State, including the hydrogen hub that would expand research and development of hydrogen fuel, bolster American energy dominance, and bring nearly 10,000 jobs to the region. They have created chaos at critical agencies that keep the lights on like Bonneville Power Administration. Moreover, with their big, ugly bill they have gutted clean energy investments meant to lower utility bills and strengthen our energy infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest and keep the lights on. With Republicans in charge here in Washington, D.C., jobs and innovation are down, clean energy projects are canceled, and energy prices are up. My constituents deserve better. They want real solutions that will lower costs and better their lives. At a time when families are struggling to pay for the essentials, the single most valuable thing we can do in the energy sector is roll out more low-cost, clean energy, not hinder it. We have a real shot at meaningful reforms that will cut red tape and accelerate the build-out of abundant, affordable energy. We can build more power lines for a more connected and nimble grid, and we can secure our supply chain of critical grid infrastructure, as well. This bill that we are voting on today does none of that, and that is why I am asking my colleagues to oppose this bill and start a good- faith, bipartisan discussion to bring real solutions to the American people, not just empty promises.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate September 17, 2025, as the second annual National App Challenge Day. This day honors the ingenuity, creativity, and technical skill of middle and high school students nationwide who are building tools that improve their communities and strengthen our country's future. National App Challenge Day highlights the Congressional App Challenge, a bipartisan, House-sponsored initiative that invites students from every congressional district to learn to code, apply their skills to real-world problems, and share their solutions with their Representatives. What began as a simple invitation to experiment with computer science has grown into a movement that now spans all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories. Since the first App Challenge was held in 2015, more than 70,000 students have coded over 12,000 unique apps, supported by tens of thousands of educators, mentors, and volunteer judges each year. The Congressional App Challenge also enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support. In the 118th Congress, 412 Members, representing 95 percent of the House of Representatives, hosted at least one Challenge in their districts. This remarkable level of participation underscores a shared commitment across party lines to empowering America's youth and strengthening the Nation's leadership in STEM education. Through this Challenge, students gain far more than programming experience. They learn to work in teams, think critically, communicate clearly, and iterate on their ideas. They identify local needs and build apps that address them, from expanding access to educational resources and civic information to supporting public health, safety, and environmental resilience. In classrooms, after-school programs, libraries, youth centers, and homes, the Congressional App Challenge opens doors to opportunity and helps develop the next generation of American innovators. Today's observance also honors the teachers, mentors, parents, community partners, and industry volunteers who devote their time and expertise to guiding student creators. Their encouragement ensures that a student's curiosity can become a prototype, that a prototype can become a working product, and that each working product can inspire peers to imagine what is possible with technology. As we mark National App Challenge Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to hands-on STEM education and to equitable pathways into the innovation economy. Investing in our students' potential strengthens the workforce, supports American competitiveness, and sustains the spirit of problem solving that has long defined our Nation. I encourage all Members of the House and their constituents to join me in celebrating National App Challenge Day. Let us recognize the remarkable achievements of these young coders and continue supporting initiatives that cultivate creativity, expand opportunity, and empower students to build solutions that serve their neighbors and their Nation.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone and Chairman Latta for their leadership. I am from Washington State, and in the Pacific Northwest, hydropower makes up the majority of our energy mix. That is why I am very proud to lead this effort to enhance transparency and really help streamline the non-Federal hydropower licensing process with my colleague from Idaho, Representative Fulcher. This bill will support the proper permitting of clean, abundant, and affordable energy by allowing Congress, Tribes, resource agencies, and ratepayers to better track the status of the relicensing process for new and existing hydropower license applications. Every 30 to 50 years, hydropower dams must relicense their dams with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in order to continue operating a facility. Hydropower dams in my district are critical to keeping the lights on and keeping the power flowing, and several, including the Rock Island Dam at Chelan County PUD, are due for relicensing at the end of 2028. The relicensing process is typically very lengthy, in part for good reason. The public comment period needs to be robust for all parties to weigh in. Without that input, we risk potentially devastating environmental consequences on regional ecosystems. With relicensing activity set to double in the coming decade and the process typically taking 7 to 10 years to complete, there are crucial reforms that are needed to cut red tape without compromising careful consideration. Otherwise, we could risk not having the affordable power we need when we need it. The bill also includes annual reporting to track progress on new hydropower licenses, which are the most sensitive to licensing costs and delays. Existing projects have a revenue stream to pull from that allows the licensee to fund these processes, but new projects are completely sourced by the developers. This commonsense, bipartisan bill takes the first step by enhancing transparency and tracking progress on any given licensing process for all parties involved. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on comprehensive, bipartisan hydropower licensing reform, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, alongside my colleagues in the Washington delegation, devastated at the tragic loss of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker from Wenatchee, Washington. Last weekend, these little girls, ages 9, 8, and 5, were reported missing when their father failed to bring them home following a scheduled visit. Over the next few days, we all hoped and prayed for the best. We prayed that they would be found safe and well and returned to their mother. Then we all learned the horrific news that they had been murdered. Like so many, and I just heard it out there, I was heartbroken. These girls had their whole lives ahead of them with so many possibilities. We all live full lives. Those futures were taken from them. On Tuesday, hundreds and hundreds of people came to a vigil in Wenatchee to remember these girls and to grieve with their family and with the entire community. These young girls brought so much joy to their classroom, their family, and their community. This is just an unspeakable tragedy for the city of Wenatchee. It really is a tragedy for everybody standing in this room, including my Washington delegation. All of our hearts are with their mother, the community, their family, and loved ones. Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with them during this incredibly difficult time. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask for a moment of silence.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time. Today, I rise just flabbergasted and outraged by the latest attempts to undermine protections that keep our air clean, safe, and healthy. Do we really disagree about that? Today's bill would allow an unnecessary, dangerous increase in some of the worst toxic chemicals back into the air that we and our children breathe, even when these facilities have abided by these standards for decades and proven that they have the technologies to do so. Let me repeat that: They have the technologies. They have the equipment already. As a pediatrician, I know how damaging these toxins can be. Mercury and lead can lead to severe developmental delays, birth defects, and brain damage for children. Dioxins are known human carcinogens. The list goes on. As a Member of Congress who strives always to find pragmatic, bipartisan solutions for us and for our children, I simply fail to understand when my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are choosing to relax these standards for clean air, all while stripping healthcare away from more than 13 million Americans. I mean, they are jeopardizing our health and taking away our healthcare. I urge my colleagues to strongly oppose this bill. It is a corporate giveaway that hurts our constituents once again.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material into the Record.

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I am here as one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Doctors Caucus in the House of Representatives. I am here to talk straight with you and with the American people and my constituents about this tax plan that is being worked on by my Republican colleagues. It will explode the deficit. It will also hurt every single person in this country by making the biggest cuts to Medicaid and to food benefits ever. I want to make clear, as I talk about this, how reckless it is and that even people who do not rely on Medicaid themselves will be impacted by this. I am outraged. We are talking about a cut of $715 billion to Medicaid. That is the largest cut ever. It will kick 13.7 million Americans off of their health insurance. Let's just be really clear about why they are doing this. This isn't to balance the budget. It is not to deal with the deficit. In fact, this bill is exploding the deficit. This is to pay for a gigantic tax break for the wealthiest people in this country a la Elon Musk. It is morally bankrupt to think about that, that transfer, about taking healthcare away from the people in my district and across this country and transferring it to the wealthiest Americans. It is also fiscally reckless. Doing this will essentially collapse our healthcare system in the United States of America. That is why just last week, we spent 26\1/2\ hours in the Energy and Commerce Committee discussing this very thing, telling the stories of our constituents, painting a picture of what it would mean to cut 13.7 million Americans off of their insurance. It is interesting that this whole discussion didn't start until 2 o'clock in the morning because my Republican colleagues didn't want to have this discussion during the day when people would actually hear it. They waited until the dead of night to bring up this topic of taking healthcare away from our constituents. Mr. Speaker, in the State of Washington, one in three people rely on Medicaid. I am going to tell you that most people who do don't even know it because in Washington State it is called Apple Health. If people are asked if they are on Medicaid, they will say no. If they are asked if they are on Apple Health, they will say yes. This represents the most vulnerable people. These are kids, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and the elderly in nursing homes. These are the people who need our help the most. I think about my patients. I am a pediatrician. I think about the ones who have Apple Health. If they didn't have it, if they didn't have access to come see me, their primary care pediatrician, and get diagnosed early with a mild pneumonia or an ear infection or whatever the case may be, they would be forced to go to the emergency department for that care. It is not like they are not going to get sick. They are going to get sicker, and they are going to go later when things are more expensive and more complicated. Mr. Speaker, do you know what else? Even if you are not on Medicaid, as I think about my patients with private insurance, they are going to be waiting in that emergency department line, too. They will have broken an arm or have some other emergency. They are going to be waiting in a longer line. We all know that the lines are already long to be seen in the emergency department. The care there is the most expensive a person can get. The lines are the longest lines. Somebody is going to pay for that care. Otherwise, hospitals go underwater, and they go out of business. Who is that? That is the people who are not on Medicaid but who are paying private insurance premiums. Those premiums are going to go up. It will hurt individuals who buy their own insurance. It will hurt the businesses and the companies who employ those people. This hurts everybody. I want to tell you the story about Ayla. This is Ayla. She is 4 years old. She was born in 2021 in a rural part of my district after an uneventful pregnancy. Right after she was delivered, something went very, very wrong. She was in dire straits. She was clearly sick. She needed emergency care. Thank goodness, this rural hospital has a labor and delivery unit. They were well-equipped to resuscitate a baby, to stabilize her, and then to Life Flight her to a hospital that could provide the specialty care that she needed. Let's think about it for a moment. If Medicaid gets cut and these rural hospitals see a disproportionate share of patients on Medicaid, either those hospitals are going to close or they are going to start cutting back services. Mr. Speaker, I will tell you the first service to go will be labor and delivery. What if that had happened after these Medicaid cuts? What if Kittitas Valley Healthcare didn't have labor and delivery? What if Ayla had been born then? What if she had not had the specialists there and had not had the ability to be resuscitated there in the delivery room? She would not have made it. That is what we are going to see when they start cutting away at Medicaid. It will mean the closure of rural hospitals and fewer labor and delivery units. More people will get sicker. They will get poorer. Children like Ayla will not make it. That is what I mean when I say it collapses our whole healthcare system. Our healthcare system is like a three-legged stool. One of those legs is Medicaid. If we start taking that away, the whole system collapses. That is what we are talking about: Hospital closures, taking away services, long waits in emergency departments, and a population that is sicker and that needs more care. That care becomes more expensive. It hurts us all. That is why I am so outraged that this is the mechanism that my Republican colleagues want to use to pay for a tax plan that will give gigantic cuts to the wealthiest taxpayers in this country such as Elon Musk. That is unconscionable. I wanted to start with that. I am really honored to yield to our Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi from the great State of California.

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Emerita Speaker Pelosi for her moral clarity and her fiscal pragmatism in painting a clear picture of what is going on right now. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Vermont (Ms. Balint).

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Balint for that clarity. I appreciate drawing that distinction that Speaker Emerita Pelosi referred to as reverse Robin Hood. That is exactly what is going on here. Who are you standing up for? We saw with the Republican 2017 tax cut that the vast majority of that benefit went to the wealthiest, and it did not trickle down to people. People are already having trouble affording rent, home prices, food, and other goods. Putting this kind of financial pressure not just on Medicaid recipients but on everybody else, because insurance rates and medical costs are going to go higher, only makes that squeeze worse. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda).

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Tokuda for bringing up that particular issue of children in the neonatal intensive care unit, where I have worked. I think about this frequently. When over 40 percent of births in this country are covered by Medicaid, I think about what it would mean for a family to be bankrupt for the rest of their lives if they had a premature baby or a baby with special needs. I also think about what would happen if those babies didn't get the right care. Sometimes this is not a matter of life and death but a matter of life, death, and lifelong disabilities. That is what good NICU care will mean, and it makes a difference for these babies who are relying on Medicaid. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier).

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments and putting this in a very personal way. I am wondering for people out there watching if they are thinking, gosh, I wonder is this really true? Are hospitals really going to close? Are we really going to lose labor and delivery and have to drive hours to get to the nearest hospital to deliver a baby? In my district, the hospital that I talked about earlier is between two mountain passes. If it is snowing, there is really nowhere to go except by Life Flight, and that is not hyperbole. I have sat with the heads of school-based health clinics and community health centers, with heads of hospitals, with nursing homes--and, by the way, we have been referring to rural hospitals, but there are urban hospitals and suburban hospitals that are also highly dependent or have a very high percentage of Medicaid-dependent patients. We are already seeing cuts in hundreds of employees in the Seattle area because of these impending cuts to Medicaid. I want to just be crystal clear; this is absolutely true. We are hearing this across the board that when Medicaid gets cut, we all lose. We lose our local labor and delivery service. We lose our local emergency room. We lose the ability to be seen quickly in the event of an emergency because somebody who could have been taken care of by a primary care physician a couple of days earlier with an uncomplicated illness is now in the emergency room ahead of you in line, making you wait when you are having a heart attack. That is completely preventable by using the leanest, most efficient healthcare service and insurance that we have called Medicaid. I want to tell another story. This is the story of Miguel. Now, we talked about Ayla before, a little 4-year-old girl. Miguel is at the other end of life. He is a senior. He is a constituent who is dependent on Medicaid. He is actually a 76-year-old widower who lives in Wenatchee, the apple capital of the world. Now, after Miguel's wife passed away, he relied solely on his Social Security check to cover his living expenses. He is a retired orchard worker, and he worked hard to earn that Social Security. He spent decades doing physically demanding labor without access to a pension later, and private insurance was never affordable. He still depends on Medicaid to stay in his modest home, receiving regular in-home nursing visits and help with daily tasks, like bathing, cooking, and managing his medications. Medicaid's coverage for home- based care is, by the way, far more affordable than nursing home-based care. He gets that home-based care, transportation, and care coordination through Medicaid. Without that, he would have no way to attend his checkups, manage his diabetes, and function through the limitations that he suffered because of a stroke. Miguel fears losing access to the services that allow him to live at home with dignity, with independence, in familiar surroundings, and he deserves that. Frankly, that is the most cost-effective way to help Miguel. For seniors like Miguel, Medicaid is not optional. It is their lifeline. It is how they keep dignity. It is how they stay at home. Unfortunately, Miguel's fears are not unfounded. The rural hospital that he depends on treats patients who are more likely to be on Medicaid or Medicare. In other words, they have a disproportionate share, and if these patients, these Medicare patients, lose their health insurance because of this bill, the cost of their care gets absorbed by the hospital. For hospitals in rural areas that are already struggling, barely keeping their heads above water, this could be the death blow. This will force them to first cut services. I talked about labor and delivery. I could also talk about mental health services and opioid treatment. Those are often the first to go. This would leave Miguel without access to care. I am not trying to fearmonger or deceive Americans, but this is scary. It is real. I am simply saying what our community health centers, and our hospitals, and our nursing homes, and our school-based health clinics are telling me, that the Republicans' budget will take healthcare away, and health insurance away from 13.7 million Americans all while, therefore, increasing costs for everyone, decreasing access to care, and leaving us all sicker and poorer. Now, we haven't even talked really about the impact on nursing homes and on our seniors. Speaker Emerita Pelosi touched on this, but I also want to be very clear that three out of five middle-class, working- class Americans in nursing homes depend on Medicaid to pay those bills. We already say in Washington we don't have enough nursing homes. In fact, people who should be in nursing homes are now filling hospital beds because there is nowhere else to go. Just imagine if more nursing homes close what that will do to hospitals, what that will do to those patients. Then think about this: I am in the sandwich generation. If I had a parent who relied on Medicaid to be in a nursing home and could not otherwise afford that, I would need to leave my job to take care of my parents. That is not what they would want for themselves or for me or for my family. This is what millions of families out there will go through if these Medicaid cuts happen.

Ms. SCHRIER. I yield to the gentlewoman from California.

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I so very much appreciate those comments and Speaker Emerita Pelosi's dedication to children in every way. Just to put an even finer point on that, food is medicine, cutting SNAP benefits not only takes food away from hungry people, but it also undermines our economy because those dollars are spent at our local grocery store. I also have to just mention that food banks, which are the next line of support, are also under threat because DOGE and Elon Musk and Donald Trump have cut the food going to those food banks, leaving shelves bearer and leaving food banks having to ration foods. They also canceled the program where local farmers can provide their food to the local food banks, which is the healthiest and local and fresh food. All of this just adds up, once again, to hurting people in need in order to fund a tax cut for the billionaires in this country. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to my colleague from Minnesota (Ms. Morrison) to give her perspective about Medicaid.

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Dr. Morrison for her perspective, from the perspective of an OB/GYN who has taken care of pregnant women and new babies and really paints a very clear picture about maternal mortality in this country and what cuts to Medicaid mean for that. It is interesting. All of us in the Doctors Caucus have been talking for years--in fact, for the whole time I have been in Congress--trying and trying to improve Medicaid reimbursement, to make it so that Medicaid reimbursement can match Medicare reimbursement so that more children can have a medical home. It is about expanding Medicaid care for pregnant women until 1 year postpartum to make sure that they are healthy and plan their pregnancies and that we can cut down this outrageous incidence of maternal mortality in this country. Now we are just fighting to keep Medicaid. That is the situation we are in now because Republicans want to gut Medicaid and take health insurance away from 13.7 million Americans to pay for a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. That is just plain wrong. I will talk for a moment about another constituent of mine who paints just a different angle on what it looks like to cut Medicaid. I will tell you that our phones are ringing off the hook. People understand what is going on. They are worried for their health, for the health of their families, and for the health of their parents. They get what will happen to their local rural hospital if these go into effect. I will tell you about Kathleen, who graciously shared a story about her own mother. Kathleen's mother lived to be 92 years old. She was a widow for 42 of those years and helped care for five of her grandchildren. Kathleen's mom lived through the deprivations of the Great Depression and World War II and was never one to complain. She lived simply. In the last decades of her life, she had a number of serious, complex medical conditions that presented real challenges for her medical team and specialists and, of course, for her. Medicaid supplemented her traditional Medicare plan in the last years of her life and allowed her to get the medical care that she needed. She was treated with care and respect. When Kathleen's mom injured herself in a fall, Medicaid covered the rehabilitation facility and, later, in-home physical therapy and occupational therapy so she could be in her own home. Later, she had a life-threatening event and was hospitalized. Eventually, she was well enough to move to an outpatient rehabilitation facility, followed by in-home care. Again, Medicaid was there for her. The care was safe, reliable, and appropriate, and it gave tremendous relief to her and her family. In the last months of her life, Medicaid provided hospice care. The nurses, home health aide, OT, PT, and case manager were her guardian angels. They treated her with compassion and dignity. Isn't this the type of treatment and care, the care made possible by Medicaid, that all of us deserve, that all of us want, and that we want for our friends, family, and ourselves? For so many seniors in this country, this type of care is made possible thanks to Medicaid. It is unfathomable that my Republican colleagues want to deny our seniors the type of comprehensive, compassionate, and thoughtful care that Kathleen's mother received. That brings us full circle to how these cuts to Medicaid, Apple Health in Washington State--something a lot of people out there think is that they are not relying on Medicaid, so maybe it doesn't affect them. The message I really want to deliver, Mr. Speaker--and I am actually going to look at the camera to speak directly to the American people-- is that cuts to Medicaid, or to Apple Health, impact every single person in this country. They impact you if you are the son, daughter, or spouse of a senior who needs to be in a nursing home because nursing homes will close, and you will have to leave your job to take care of your ailing parent or spouse. They impact everybody who lives in a rural community or in an urban community where there are a lot of patients who rely on Medicaid insurance, because when Medicaid doesn't pay the bills for those people, the hospital gives away that care for free. Then, they either cut services or close--or, more likely, a combination of them--and your insurance premiums go up because somebody has to pay. Who is going to make up the difference? Private insurance. That means your insurance rates go up, and they are already high. Everybody hurts from this, even if you are not paying for your own health insurance. I bet, at some point, you are going to the emergency room, and those patients who don't have Medicaid are now getting sicker, waiting longer, and getting their care late in an emergency department. If you think the waits are bad now because hospital beds and ER beds are full of patients in mental health crises or with fentanyl overdoses or with nursing home patients who don't have a nursing home to go to, if you think the waits are bad now, just wait till 13.7 million Americans lose their health insurance. We are all impacted. If you live in a rural area and have private insurance, you are doing fine, but if the labor and delivery department closes at that rural hospital and maybe you have a high-risk pregnancy and need obstetrics care and might have a complication with that delivery, you might have to go live in a more urban area for the month before that delivery just to make sure that you are safe and that your baby is safe. This is something that none of us should have to worry about in the United States of America. This is a prosperous country. We have excellent healthcare here, and to think that my Republican colleagues want to cut Medicaid, a lifeline for the patients who depend on it and for our entire healthcare system, that they want to cut what the people most in need depend on--again, we are talking about the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women, children. To think that they would cut care for them in order to pay for gigantic tax cuts for billionaires--it is a backward transfer of money. It is Robin Hood in reverse. It is just plain wrong. I have explained now that, in addition to being morally bankrupt, it is also fiscally reckless. It is irresponsible, and I just don't understand how this is the plan that my colleagues came up with. Their constituents are going to hurt every bit as much as mine and, statistically, with more rural areas and already more vulnerable rural hospitals, chances are their constituents are going to hurt even more. I sure hope that people out there are paying attention. Call the people who represent you. Tell them what your fears are. I know people are calling me, and I am standing up here to appeal to my Republican colleagues and let the American people know what is going on right now, why they should be concerned. This is a democracy. Call the people who represent you. Tell them what you think. Tell them what it would mean for you, for your family, for your neighbor. Again, when it is one out of three in Washington State, what would it mean if these largest-ever cuts to Medicaid transpired? Here is what is going to happen tonight. At 1 o'clock in the morning, the Rules Committee is going to meet. They are going to craft the rules for Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill, which would be a travesty for the people I represent. They are going to do this at 1 o'clock in the morning when everybody else is asleep, not watching, not paying attention, not watching the nightly news. This is not prime time because, I think, they are embarrassed about what they are doing, but they are going to do it anyway. They are going to do it for the people who were in the front row at President Trump's inauguration. That is who they are going to do it for. This is not helping their constituents. It is not helping my constituents. America, it is not helping you. It is morally bankrupt. It is fiscally irresponsible. It is just plain cruel. That is why I, along with the rest of the Doctors Caucus, have spent this evening talking about what this means for our patients and for our healthcare system. We understand it on a visceral level because we have lived in and worked in this healthcare system. We have worked in crowded emergency departments, seeing people who, if they had health insurance, wouldn't need to be in the emergency department. We have taken care of patients who didn't have insurance like Medicaid, so they delayed care or they didn't pick up a medication because it was too expensive and they didn't have coverage. We have seen these things. Dr. Morrison and I have both seen complicated pregnancies and neonatal resuscitations. These are patients who rely on Medicaid. We are here as doctors who swore an oath to our patients to protect them, to stand up for them. This is us standing up for our patients, to plead with my Republican colleagues not to cut Medicaid. Mr. Speaker, I will let them know and will let my constituents and the American people know that I will continue to fight every minute to make sure that these cuts don't happen and that we keep this oath to our patients. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SCHRIER

Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.